Weather-board gage.



PATENTED JAN. 16, 1906.

I L. G. ANDERSON.

WEATHER BOARD GAGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.13, 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16, 1906.

Application filed March 13, 1905. Serial No. 249,902.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEMAN C. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Jmprovements in Weather-BoardGages, of which the following is a specification.

In applying weather-boards to houses it is necessary that each piece ofweather-board be marked in order to indicate the point to which theoverlapping board is to be brought, and it is also necessary to out eachpiece of weather-boarding accurately to such length that it will fitclosely against the corner-finishing pieces of the house-frame. Thecornerfinishing pieces are generally of somewhat greater thickness thanthe combined thickness of the weather-boarding, and the inner faces ofthese corner-finishing pieces are often winding and undercut, so thatdifficulty is experienced in accurately determining the distance betweenadjacent faces of two corner-finishing pieces at the exact point atwhich a particular piece of weather-boarding is to be laid. The usualmethod of gaging the length of each weather-board is by means of aU-shaped wooden clip which is adapted to be slipped over theweather-board; but with this construction the outer arm of the clip,which lies on the outside of the weatherboard and which serves as aguide for the marking knife or too], is in alinement with the outerportion of the inner face of the finishing-strip, and hence does notgive an accurate indication of the position of that portion of the innerface of the finishing-strip against which the end of the particularweather-board is to abut.

The object of my present invention is to provide a simple and efiicientpermanent tool 7 by means of which the operator may accurately gage thelength of the weather-board necessary to fit closely at the particularpoint to which the board is to be brought.

A further object of my invention is to combine with such a tool means bywhich each board may be marked to indicate the point of overlapping fora succeeding board.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

' Figure 1 is a perspective view showing one form of my improved tool intwo positions,

that at the upper left-hand corner of the view indicating the positionof use in gaging the length of a weather-board about to be laid and thatat the right of the figure showing the manner of use for marking aweatherboard to indicate the position of overlap. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of that form of the tool shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, adetail View showing the manner of use in gaging the length of aweather-board Fig. 4, a sectional detail of the form of tool shown inthe preceding figures, and Fig. 5 a perspective view of a modificationof the overlap-marking portion of the tool.

In the drawings, 10 indicates a corner-finishing strip, and 11 the innerface thereof; 12, weather-boards which have been laid in position, and13 the next board to be laid.

My tool consists of a main body portion 15 and a pair of downturned ends16 and 17.

In the preferred form both edges of the body 15 and the downturned ends.16 and 17 are carefully trued, so that either edge of the body 15 may beused as a knife guide in marking the board 13, thus making it possibleto mark both ends of the board without reversing the tool. It is to beunderstood, however, that the tool will be nearly as eflicient with onlya single edge arranged for this purpose. In order that the edges of thedownturned ends 16 and 17 may be brought into-contact with the face 11of a corner-stri 10 at the exact point against which the board to belaid is to abut, these downturned ends are made of the desired length,and the intermediate portions of their edges are cut away, as at 18, soas to leave at their'outer ends only portions which are in alinementwith the corresponding edge of the body 15. By this means it becomeswholly immaterial whether the inner face 11 of a corner-strip 10 at thepoint against which the new board is to abutis overhung by the outercorner of the finishingstrip or lies within said corner, as the ends ofthe downturned portions 16 and 17 will engage the particular portion ofthe inner face 11 against which the end of the new board is to abut, sothat when the operator lays a new board 13 upon the outer faces of thefinishing-strips 10 and squares the board with the overlap-line to whichthe butt end of the board is to be brought and then lays the tool to theposition shown in the upper left-hand corner of Fig. 1, with the-tips ofthe downturned portion 16 and 17 against the inner face 11 of thefinishing-strip 10, the corresponding edge of the body 15 will be nalinement with that portion of the inner face of the finishing-strip,and if the board 13 be marked at this line and cut as marked the boardwill accurately fit at the exact position to which it is to be brought.

In the form of the tool shown in Figs. 1 to 1, inclusive, I have shownerhaps the simplest form of combination or marking purposes. In thisform the downturned portion 17 is doubled back upon itself so as to forma spring member 20, which projects above or beyond the outer face of thebody 15. Passing through the two portions 17 and 20 is a threaded screw21, upon which is threaded a thumb-nut 22, which nut engages the springmember 20 and holds it in any desired position.

Weather-boarding is laid from three to five inches to the weather, andin order to form a convenient means for marking each board I formthrough the body 15 a series of perforations 23, three, four, and fiveinches, respectively, from the normal position of the eX- tended end ofspring member 20. In another series, to one side of the series 23, Iform perforations 24, which lie three and one-half and four and one-halfinches from the member 20, and in another series I arrange perforations25, which are arranged at the one-quarter-inch intermediate positions.All of these perforations might be arranged in one series, if desired;but the arrangement I have shown is probably the most convenient, forobvious reasons. If intermediate spacing is desired, these can be had byadjusting the thumb-nut 22, so that the member 20 will be moved from itsnormal position. In order to produce the overlap-mark 26 on any board,the operator has merely to reverse the tool to the position shown at-theright of Fig. 1, placing the projecting portion of the member 20 againstthe butt edge of the weather-board as, for instance, one of the laidportions 12- and then by placing a pencil in the desired perforation 23,24, or 25 draw the tool and pencil together along the board.

It will be readily understood that the means for making the overlap-markmay be considerably varled, except that the inner face of the body 15ought to be free from projecting obstructions. For instance, aconstruction such as shown in Fig. 5 may be employed, although suchconstruction is considerably more expensive In this figure I illustratea tool the gaging ortions of which are identical with the tool a readydescribed. The-spring portion 20, screw 21, and nut 22 are omitted, andinstead of the perforations through the body 15 I provide a gage-strip30, secured to the outer face of the body 15 by riveting, brazing, orotherwise. This strip is provided with undercut edges, and slidablymounted upon said strip is an adjustable gagehead 31, held in anydesired position by means of a thumb-screw 32. One of the downturnedportions of the main body is then provided with. pencil-holding clips33, adapted to receive a pencil 34.

I claim as my invention 1. A weather-board gage consisting of, a mainbody portion having a straight edge,

and end pieces arranged at an angle to said body portion each with theend of an edge in the plane of the straight edge portion of the mainbody and an intermediate portion of said edge removed, an abutmentcairied by said tool and adapted to engage the edge of a weather-board,the said main body being provided with means by which a markinginstrument may be maintained at a predetermined distance from saidabutment.

2. A weather-board gage consisting of, a main 'body having downturnedends, said main body having its edges straight, and said downturned endshaving intermediate portions of their edges removed and the ends oftheir edges in the plane of the corresponding straight edges of the mainbody, an abut ment carried by said tool and adapted to engage the edgeof a weather-board, the said main body being provided with means bywhich a marking instrument may be maintained at a predetermined distancefrom said abutment.

3. A weather-board gage consisting of, a main body, and end membersarranged at an angle thereto, said end members each having at its end atransverse projecting portion in the plane of the straight edge of themain body portion, an abutment carried by said tool and adapted toengage the edge of a weather-board, the said main body being providedwith means by which a marking instrument may be maintained at apredetermined distance from said abutment.

4. A weather-board gage consisting of, a main body having endsdownturned from said body at an angle thereto and one of said endsdoubled back upon itself to forma spring portion the end of whichprojects above the main body, and means for adjusting said springportion toward and from the main body, the said main body havingperforations formed through it and arranged at various distances fromthe projecting portion of the spring member, and the said downturnedportions having intermediate portions of their edges removed, for thepurpose set forth.

5. A weather-board gageconsisting of, a main body having ends downturnedtherefrom at an angle thereto, the said downturned portions havingintermediate portions of their edges removed, a lip carried by the InWitness whereof I have hereunto set my main body at one end andprojecting from hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 10 thesurfacg: opposite dto that from Whjph the 8th day of March, A. D. 1905.

adjacent ownturne end rojeots, t e said main body having formed throughit a plu- LEMAN ANDERSON rality of perforations at various distancesWitnesses:

from said projecting lip, for the purposes set ARTHUR M. H001),

forth. JAMES A. WALSH.

